"A wise and frugal government which shall restrain menfrom injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." (Thomas Jefferson)

Friday, December 23, 2011

Two days before Christmas as I was looking for pictures of Christmas trees, found this website that details the White House Christmas Trees, and gives the background on the trees in the White House. Enjoyed seeing the first picture of the lighting of the outdoor tree for the first time by Calvin Coolidge which has turned into a tradition with every President.

These are only a few of the pictures that are available for the White House Christmas tree but are my favorites because of the beautiful trees and the first pictures of the White House Christmas Tree. We found it funny that Teddy Roosevelt didn't want to continue tradition because he didn't want to cut down a tree but his two sons managed to get a tree in the White House and hid it in the closet.

This will be the last official post from Norman as I finish up last minute details. Christmas Day will be spent at my son's less than a mile away to see my grandson open presents. Early morning on the 26th we head to Denver to celebrate a second Christmas with my two granddaughters. Will be great to see both of my daughters for Christmas. Then it is off to the Insight Bowl to see the Oklahoma Sooners play the Iowa Hawkeyes, relax for a few days and back to Norman the first week in January right after the Iowa Caucus.

Have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year in 2012! Enjoy the pictures from the various Presidents with the White House Christmas Tree!

Sharon

First White House Christmas Tree
Photo -- Grover Cleveland

On Christmas Eve in 1923, Calvin and

Grace Coolidge lit the tree, a 48-foot balsam from

Vermont, during a 5 p.m. ceremony.

President and Mrs. Kennedy

President and Mrs. Reagan

President and Mrs. Clinton

President and Mrs. Bush

This year's Christmas Tree contains
cards from children of the military

According to Think Progress, “NRA: Practice Range” is billed as a “network of news, laws, facts, knowledge, safety tips, educational materials and online resource” for the organization.The National Rifle Association released a new app on Sunday that includes a gun range equipped with coffin-shaped targets, and the option for players to simulate using a military-grade sniper rifle.

The app includes what it calls “9 true to life firearms,” and allows players to download an MK-11 sniper rifle setting for 99 cents. The rifle can shoot 750 rounds per minute.

Follow by Email

Subscribe To Democrats for Sale

Political Image

Dems/GOP Fighting -- Will they Finally Work Together for the Country? Will replace this image when they do. (11/07/2012)

Quotes

"We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this." President Barack Obama, Newtown, CT, 12/16/2012

******

"I don't think that the way to correct a spin from the left is to try to impart a spin from the right.... [A]n information flow distorted from the right would be just as much a disservice as distortion from the left. What we really should be after... is accurate information. And I don't see what any conservative or anybody else for that matter has to fear from accurate information." M. Stanton Evans

******

Former Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY)

“For heaven’s sake, you have Grover Norquist wandering the earth in his white robes saying that if you raise taxes one penny, he’ll defeat you,” he told CNN back in May. “He can’t murder you. He can’t burn your house. The only thing he can do to you, as an elected official, is defeat you for reelection. And if that means more to you than your country when we need patriots to come out in a situation when we’re in extremity, you shouldn’t even be in Congress.”

******

"We are are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation.

******

John Stuart Mill was a 19th century political philosopher:

"I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative. I believe that is so obviously and universally admitted a principle that I hardly think any gentleman will deny it." John Stuart Mill.